Culture & Entertainment

4 great truck books for kids

Culture & Entertainment

4 great truck books for kids

Do any of your kids love trucks and books about trucks? My kiddo does, and maybe your kids do too. If that's the case, here are some of our family favourites to buy or borrow from the library. 1.
Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site. This is the perfect pre-bedtime book to read to little construction enthusiasts. It's sweet, not too long but not too short.
2.
Richard Scarry's Cars and Trucks and Things That Go. Remember Richard Scarry's amazing books as a kid? You can enjoy them all over again with this hugely detailed, fun and whimsical book. (Apologies for the fuzzy image, folks. I'm working on getting a crisper one.)
3.
My Big Truck Book. Lots of trucks, every kind you can imagine, in this board book for the youngest of truck lovers.
4. Got a hard-core truck loving kid who wants to know about the workings of specific trucks and vehicles? Then try anything in the series of
Mighty Machines books, like this one: Trucks. The series includes a book about loaders, fire trucks, tractors and diggers.
Do your kids have any faves that I haven't mentioned? -Helen

Sleep

9 easy ways to get more—and better!—sleep

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Arianna Huffington says the key to health, happiness, success and even economic prosperity is simple: everyone needs to sleep more. Sounds great, but how do we actually make it happen? Here are her best tips.

Self-described "sleep evangelist" Arianna Huffington comes by her obsession with rest honestly: in April 2007, after an exhausting trip spent touring prospective colleges with her daughter, Christina, during the day and frantically catching up on emails at night, she collapsed in her office. When she woke up hours later, she had a broken cheekbone and no idea what was wrong with her. After trekking from doctor to doctor trying to find out, the answer was both reassuring (she wasn't suffering from a scary disease) and not (she was burnt out, sleep deprived—essentially, making herself ill). Unsurprisingly, she quickly began taking sleep seriously. So seriously, in fact, that she threw herself into research—which turned into a book, The Sleep Revolution, released earlier this year—and started telling everyone what she learned. (We weren't joking about the "sleep evangelist" thing.) We chatted with Huffington about why women should carve out time for rest, how to get high-quality sleep and what to do when you fall back into old habits. Here's what she said.

1. Forget work-life balance. There's no such thing, according to Huffington. "Realistically, life is never balanced; we have a sick toddler one night, a big deadline the other night. For me, it's all about work-life integration, and bringing joy as well as productivity to everything we do," she says. "And I feel women need to realize that what they tell us on airplanes is the truth: put your own oxygen mask on first." Meaning: you can't take care of anyone else if you don't take care of yourself, first.

2. Do less binge-watching. Huffington doesn't buy the idea that there just aren't enough hours in the day to work, parent, exercise, socialize and sleep, too. "We all have more discretionary time than we acknowledge," she says. "You know, somebody's watching House of Cards [right now]. I've only seen one episode. I love the show; I would love to see the rest of it. But you know what? If something has to give, it's going to be House of Cards."

3. Ditch the tech. Speaking of binge-watching… You've probably heard this before, but chances are you didn't listen, so it bears repeating: ban devices from your bedroom. "Before I go to sleep, I power down all my devices and gently escort them out of my bedroom," Huffington says. "Once I get into bed, I only read physical books. And always books that have nothing to do with work—poetry, novels. I don't read anything on-screen, and I never watch TV just before I'm going to sleep."

4. Develop a bedtime routine. "The most important thing is to have a transition to sleep," Huffington says. "I think the biggest mistake we make in modern life is we have no transition. We can be on our smartphones, answering emails, texting until the last moment, and then turn off the light and go to sleep. That doesn't work." Huffington's ritual starts 30 minutes before she wants to go to sleep. That's when she powers down her phone, tablet and laptop, turns off all the lights and has a hot bath. If 30 minutes feels like too much time, start with five minutes, she advises.

5. Be consistent—even when you're travelling. Whether you're going out of town for work or play, it's important to keep up your bedtime routine. To make it easier, Huffington always packs an eye mask, noise-cancelling headphones, a candle (to give the space a homey vibe) and masking tape (to cover up all those annoying blinking lights). "You have to get organized," she says. "But once you do, and you realize what a benefit it brings you, it's not difficult. It only takes five minutes to cover the lights and put the temperature down; it's not like these things are time consuming."

6. Buy new PJs. Huffington says whatever you wear to bed should only be worn to bed. "After my bath, I get in my nice PJs. But it could even be a special t-shirt, as long as it's something I only wear to sleep," she says. "I used to sleep in my gym clothes, but that sends your brain confusing, conflicting messages: are we going to the gym or are lying down?"

7. Say no sometimes. We're all busy, but Huffington says it's important not to give into the temptation to over-schedule. "I so dislike the person I become when I'm sleep deprived: more irritable, more reactive, less and less present with less joy in my life," she says. But acknowledging the consequences of skimping on sleep makes it easier for her to prioritize. Take, for example, a recent evening when she unexpectedly ran into close friends: "I would have loved to go to dinner with them, but I had a very early start this morning, so I didn't. And when I say that to you, you may think it sounds like a sacrifice, but it doesn't to me anymore."

8. Don't worry about falling off the sleep bandwagon. Everyone slips up sometimes, even Huffington. "I'm a work in progress. But you know, I don't think anyone, even somebody who talks about this as much as I do, would do this perfectly. For me, the most important thing is to course correct quickly."

9. Have a plan of attack for insomnia.The Sleep Revolution has an entire chapter devoted to sleep best practices: make sure your room is dark and cool, get enough physical activity, don't drink coffee or alcohol too close to bedtime… but even the most dedicated sleeper will sometimes have a sleepless night. Instead of getting stressed about it, though, Huffington's advice is to meditate. In the book, she writes, "Since we find it harder and harder to retreat into ourselves in the middle of our busy days, the retreat in the middle of the night—whether through sleep or meditation—can be reframed as a precious luxury. This certainly didn't come easily to me. But I was able to train myself to see the time spent meditating in the middle of the night as productive and enriching instead of lying awake in bed resenting the fact that I was wasting my time lying awake in bed."

Spent the night tossing and turning? Here's how to recover from a bad sleep.

Culture & Entertainment

Hygge: The Art of "Finding Magic in the Ordinary"

Culture & Entertainment

Hygge: The Art of "Finding Magic in the Ordinary"

Think about some of your warmest memories—drinking wine and reminiscing with girlfriends, chatting with your mom while she whips up a batch of your favourite muffins, having a dinner date that leads to cocktails that leads to stargazing by the water because neither of you want the night to end—that’s hygge. It’s finding happiness in the every day, and all you need to be able to attain it is to know about it.

Some say the Danish word is pronounced “hooga” but according to Marie Tourell Søderberg, author of Hygge: The Danish Art of Happiness, it’s like this: The “y” is similar to the French “y” sound—think “huge,” and the “gge” sounds like the first syllable in “girl.” But, it doesn’t really matter how you say "hygge"—you just need to get it. And to get it, you need to know where it comes from.

Hygge originates from a Norwegian word that means “well-being,” and in English, it means “coziness,” but it’s much more than that. Hygge is appreciating the little things in life. It’s “all the small things that make us feel safe, loved and satisfied,” says Søderberg. Hygge is doing things with warmth and joy, being present in the moment, and having a feeling of home—in other words, the Danish way of life.

Denmark is ranked as one of the happiest nations in the world, and hygge is likely an “ingredient in the Danish recipe for happiness,” says author Meik Wiking in his book, The Little Book of Hygge. Compared to other Europeans, Danes “meet most often with their friends and family and feel the calmest and most peaceful.” And that’s why there’s a growing interest in hygge.

Books on the subject are quickly filling up store shelves—a simple Indigo search will pull up more than five books on hygge, all of which have come out in the later half of 2016 (including Søderberg’s and Wiking’s) or will be coming out in the early months of 2017—just in time for winter, which is pretty much the reason why hygge exists.

In her book, Søderberg says, “It originated due to the need to create joy, warmth and togetherness in a country that boasts long, cold winters”—something Canadians can relate to. Hygge encourages you to embrace the cold months instead of waiting for the sun to shine again. But, anyone, anywhere, can enjoy the benefits of hygge any time of year, as it’s all about sharing moments with those you love, indulging in comfort foods, and taking in the sights and sounds around you.

Understanding hygge and having a name for it helps you recognize it and look for it in your day-to-day life. “Including it in our daily narratives and language makes us aware of the qualities of the word. Saying, ‘let’s hygge tonight,’ states a clear intention of what qualities we want our evening to have—presence, lovingness, relaxed, informal—all these qualities in one word,” says Søderberg.

Intimate candlelit dinner parties, mulled wine by a fire and ice skating under twinkling lights are classic hygge moments, but it can also be found when you're not expecting it. Hygge can happen in the least hyggelig (the adjective form of “hygge”) locations or in those in-between moments throughout your day—like when you're hiding from the rain under an awning with a friend, listening to a sax player as you wait for the next subway to arrive, or laughing with your sister over the phone.

Although hygge can happen anywhere, the most common place for it is at home, so it helps to make your living quarters feel warm, safe and welcoming—think candles, warm textiles and plenty of personal touches. In Søderberg’s book, she shares decorating advice from Nordic interior design expert Christina B. Kjeldsen: “The hygge comes when you feel that the person behind the surroundings is completely comfortable with his or her choices, but at the same time isn’t afraid of decorating intuitively and trying out new things and ideas…When you put thoughtfulness into how and why you have chosen to surround yourself with particular furniture, objects, art, flowers, knick-knacks, curtains—whatever—then you relax and your guests will see and know you for who you are.”

But, it’s important not to feel pressure to create a perfect space or occasion and force hygge. Decorate your space for you and not how you think it should be, and let moments unfold naturally—something that can be all too rare in this social media age. Søderberg warns, “The most hyggelig evening can look like a disaster in a picture, and opposite—the least hyggelig can look like a perfect evening.” But, if you have a true hyggling moment, it’ll be a “piece of art to capture the exact sense of an atmosphere in a photo.”

So, keep hygge on your mind. Make plans to hygge, be present in every moment, and soak up life's glories. And if you do, you’ll be gifted with the ability to, as Søderberg says, “[find] the magic in the ordinary.”

#FridayFive: Madonna on Carpool Karaoke, holiday gift ideas for the pet-obsessed and more fun things to do this weekend

Culture & Entertainment

#FridayFive: Madonna on Carpool Karaoke, holiday gift ideas for the pet-obsessed and more fun things to do this weekend

Do
Check out the cutest holiday gift ideas for the pet-obsessed person in your life.

SeeGord Downie's emotional reaction when the Assembly of First Nations honours him with an Indigenous spirit name, Wicapi Omani (meaning "man who walks among the stars") for his reconciliation efforts.

WatchManchester By The Sea. It's an emotional drama starring Michelle Williams and Casey Affleck, about a man who becomes the guardian of a 16-year-old after the child's father dies.

Read
Joseph Boyden's novella Wenjack—the tragic story of an Objibwe boy who runs away from his residential school.

Hear
Madonna sings some classics, vogues and kisses-and-tells about locking lips with Michael Jackson when she joins James Corden for the latest "Carpool Karaoke."

Mind & Spirit

How to make a calming shower bomb

Mind & Spirit

How to make a calming shower bomb

Here's how to make your own shower bomb with essential oils for a whole new level of relaxation.

If you enjoy a hot shower or bath to help you relax at the end of a stress-filled day, you'll love these quick DIY shower bombs that allow you to add a soothing essential oil blend to your shower's steam. Essential oils have long been used to aid everything from sleep to energy.

Now Solutions created this recipe to help you get the benefits of essential oils through inhaling the scented steam of your shower—it's like your own home spa treatment. When these scents are diffused through steam, they reach the nerves in the olfactory cavity, which go right to the brain, so you're likely to feel the calming effects right away.

How to make your own shower bomb
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a mini-muffin tin with foil liners. Mix 1 cup of baking soda with 1/3 cup of water to form a thick paste. Pour by tablespoon into the mini-muffin cups. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Top with several drops of essential oils.

For a shower bomb that will help you relax and unwind, Now recommends a blend of one drop of chamomile oil, two drops of lavender oil and two drops of sandalwood blend oil. But you can make your own blend, too. Clove essential oil is also soothing and comforting, as is ylang ylang. Or, if you're looking for a pick-me-up to start your day with, basil essential oil is known to be energizing, and bergamot and lemon are both uplifting scents.

When your shower bomb is ready, place it on your shower floor and enjoy the relaxing vapours.